Worcester man faces 5th OUI - at least

Friday

Aug 1, 2014 at 2:56 PMAug 2, 2014 at 5:43 AM

By Gary V. Murray and Brian Lee TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER— A dangerousness hearing is scheduled next week in Central District Court for a city man arrested Friday morning in Auburn for what a judge determined to be at least his fifth alleged drunken driving offense.

While Auburn police maintained that 60-year-old David Silvestri of 20 Shelby St., had a minimum of eight and possibly as many as ten prior convictions for driving while under the influence of alcohol, Judge Andrew M. D'Angelo said he was only able to determine with certainty from his reading of the suspect's record that Mr. Silvestri had four such prior convictions.

Assistant District Attorney Mark McShara told the court Mr. Silvestri had been arrested eight times for driving while under the influence in Texas and Florida and three times in Massachusetts since 1974. The prosecutor said it appeared from his record that Mr.Silvestri had been convicted at least six times.

The criminal complaint that was issued against Mr. Silvestri as a result of Friday's arrest in Auburn accuses him of his fourth offense of driving while under the influence of alcohol and also charges him with a marked lanes violation and a headlights violation.

Prosecutors requested a dangerousness hearing, alleging that Mr. Silvestri poses a danger to the public and should be held without bail for up to 90 days while awaiting trial. Judge D'Angelo scheduled the hearing for Tuesday and ordered that Mr. Silvestri remain in custody without bail until then.

According to police accounts, Auburn Police Officer Justin D. Starkus was parked on the west side of Routes 12 and 20, near Burger King, shortly before 2 a.m. Friday when a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Mr. Silvestri passed by going 23 mph in a 40 mph zone. The vehicle's slow rate of speed and the fact that its headlights were not on caught the officer's attention, according to a police report.

Mr. Silvestri allegedly turned left toward Route 12 without activating his directional. Police said the SUV failed to enter the roadway and headed toward a median before coming to an abrupt stop.

According to the officer's account, the vehicle then reversed direction and made a complete left turn onto Route 12 northbound. Officer Starkus said he activated the lights on his cruiser and followed the SUV for about a quarter-mile. During that time, the vehicle crossed over all the northbound lanes of travel and headed toward the curb and at one point, came within inches of striking the curb, according to police.

After the SUV finally came to a stop, Officer Starkus said he detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle.

Mr. Silvestri told the officer he was coming from a bar, where he had consumed two or three beers, but was unable to say which bar, according to Mr. McShara. The prosecutor said Mr. Silvestri's eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred.

Mr.Silvestri did not perform field sobriety tests to the officer's satisfaction, the assistant district attorney said. Although he attempted a breath test to determine his blood-alcohol level, Mr. Silvestri did not provide a sufficient sample to test, according to Mr. McShara.

At the request of his lawyer, Nathan M. Wong, Mr. Silvestri was allowed to wear the lawyer's sports jacket over his head during the arraignment. Mr. Wong told the judge he believed there may be identification issues in the case.